Doctor, Doctor: Interview with Jasper Cho of “Descendants of the Sun”

This article first appeared on Native Entertainment and is reprinted with permission as part of a content collaboration agreement.

The hype over the hit Korean drama series “Descendants Of The Sun” might be slowly blowing over, but DOTS is just another page in the careers of its starring actors. Native Entertainment spoke to Jasper Cho, who plays the charming (aren’t they all) Dr. Daniel Spencer in the military-inspired series. Read on as he shares about his ideal woman and behind the scenes of “Descendants Of The Sun”!

Native: Can you tell us more about yourself and what you did prior to “Descendants of the Sun”?

I’ve always been auditioning for various roles since I was in university (but it’s not something you can just do, because you know… you gotta be selected). So besides that, I’ve been working as an art director in advertising. Acting and working in advertising are similar in a similar vein of “expressing your ideas in artistic way”.

Native: How did you prepare for your role of Dr. Daniel Spencer in “Descendants of the Sun” and can you share some of the challenges you faced?

[To emulate and develop my role,] I had to look for someone who’s supposed to be so charming, warm-hearted, and very good at what he does like Dr. Daniel Spencer. But obviously it’s very hard to find such person even in fiction or film.

Also, one of the challenges was to keep the balance between “Korean-ness” and “North-American-ness”. Daniel would love kimchi but [he] would also love a pint of beer at a pub over soju. Other cast and staff told me that’s kind of me in real life so [I should] just be myself, but still… it was not easy.